Xavi wasn't exaggerating: There is no one like Pedri

Barcelona advanced to the Europa League quarter-finals with a 2-1 comeback victory over Galatasaray on Thursday evening.

It was a night when Pedri demonstrated why he is his side's star man, with a stunning performance which was topped off by a memorable equaliser.

It may be hard to believe, but there are some people who don't realise just how extraordinary Pedri is. It is not only about his goal, but the way in which he took responsibility and led the team to victory, after the hosts had taken the lead. He is a superstar, and he is getting better everyday.

One of the key features of Barcelona's play on Thursday evening was the fact that their central defenders played a key creative role. Gerard Pique and Eric Garcia were tasked with shouldering much of the creative burden, given the enormous work by the hosts to close down the Barcelona central midfielders.

Jordi Alba was one of his side's outstanding performers, as he put in an all-action performance and demonstrated his remarkable energy levels. He was strong defensively and got forward to great effect, enabling his side to secure a crucial victory.

Sergino Dest's injury is a problem for Barcelona. The United States international is the only out-and-out right back that Xavi Hernandez has for the Europa League.

Ferran Torres' loss of concentration led Galatasaray to take the lead after 28 minutes, which could have cost his side dearly. Fortunately for him it did not, and he will need to learn from this so that it doesn't happen again.

Frenkie De Jong wasted a golden opportunity in the first half, with the ball brushing the post.

Another player who rolled up his sleeves and delivered when the pressure was on was Sergio Busquets. The central midfielder showed his fine ball recovery skills, and his usual calmness on the ball.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was decisive once again for Barcelona with the second-half strike that proved to be the winner. He is a killer in front of goal, which is something that Barcelona have not had since Luis Suarez left the club.

At a key moment in this match, Barcelona turned to a man who is set to leave the club at the end of the season: Ousmane Dembele. It is clear that they cannot afford to lose a player of his talents, and his situation needs to be resolved.

In spite of the fact that they progressed to the quarter-finals, Barcelona often struggled to deal with Galatasaray's physical approach. Instead, they looked to overcome this with their footballing ability, and this approach did not always work throughout the match.

The Galatasaray fans looked to generate a hostile atmosphere for the Barcelona players, but throwing objects was out of order, as was Jordi Alba's reaction. Alba needed to demonstrate better control in this situation, but he let his emotions get the better of him.